For a country whose economy was heavily dependent on trade with the U.S., remittances from the U.S., nickel mining, tourism, and duty-free industrial zones, the Dominican Republic weathered the financial storms of 2009 better than expected. Economic indicators declined significantly when contrasted with previous years—as in 2006, when GDP reached 10.7%—but at the midpoint of 2009, GDP was still in positive territory at approximately 1.4%. Inflation closed out the year at 5%, and tourism numbers were resilient, with figures similar to those enjoyed in 2007.

The almost unassailable image of Pres. Leonel Fernández was shaken, however, by his perceived failure to address debilitating social and infrastructure crises. Government commitments to tackle endemic corruption, the erosion of educational standards, increasing drug addiction, and lingering extreme poverty rang hollow. A low minimum daily wage of $2.52—which was lower by 10 cents than that of Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere—exacerbated labour tensions. Polls taken during the year showed Fernández’s ruling Dominican Liberation Party trailing its principal adversary, the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD).

A constitutional reform package negotiated by Fernández and PRD leader Vargas Maldonado was passed that eliminated consecutive presidential reelection. Also in the package was a provision that criminalized abortion, including therapeutic abortions (those performed in cases of rape or incest or when a pregnancy threatened the life of a mother); the measure was one of the most draconian abortion restrictions on the globe.

The Dominican Republic’s chronically fragile relations with neighbouring Haiti were jarred by strong Haitian reaction to a new Dominican policy that stipulated that children born to Haitian parents residing illegally in the Dominican Republic were not entitled to Dominican citizenship. In other areas of foreign affairs, there was success. In March Fernández demonstrated exceptional skill when he brokered negotiations that cooled an incendiary dispute involving Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia that arose following an attack by the Colombian military on a rebel base located within Ecuador.